| Pesticides Suspended to Protect Bees | 25 June 08 |
 Germany is suspending the registration of eight insecticidal seed treatment products used on canola and corn after a wave of honeybee deaths. Beekeepers in Italy, France and Holland have noticed similar phenomena in their fields.The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) suspended all pesticides with the active ingredient being clothianidin. German beekeepers in the Rhine Valley state of Ger Baden-Wuerttemberg reported two-thirds of their bees died following corn seeding. Tests on dead bees showed that 99 percent had a build up of clothianidin. Clothianidin is a Bayer CropScience pesticide sold in Europe under the trade name Poncho. Used to kill corn rootworm, the pesticide attacks the nervous system of any insect and even at sub-lethal levels it can impair the bee's ability to find its way back to the hive. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency clothianidin is "highly toxic" to honeybees. Bayer's most important pesticide products (imidacloprid and clothianidin) are among those suspended by Germany, bringing in US $1.25 billion each year. The Coalition against BAYER-Dangers is demanding withdraws of all neonicotinoids from the market worldwide. View June 9, 2008 Institute of Science in Society press release View May 23, 2008 The Guardian article View May 17, 2008 Deutsche Welle article View May 21, 2008 Organic Consumers Association article View June 7, 2008 Food Democracy article Visit Coalition against BAYER Dangers website View May 20, 2008 Bayer CropScience press release Sources: Institute of Science in Society (ISIS), Guardian, Deutsche Welle, Organic Consumers Association, Food Democracy, Coalition against BAYER Dangers, Bayer CropScience |
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